All right, no official update yet from Disney on the HDR on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 4K. There are reports that Dolby is claiming Dolby Vision will only be on the 4K streaming version, but we haven’t been able to confirm that yet. So stay tuned.

Disney has however, officially just announced (at D23) that they’re releasing Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 10/3, with the Digital release due on 9/19. We know that it will have HDR (so HDR-10, no word specifically of Dolby Vision) and that it will include Dolby Atmos audio. “Bonus material includes a collection of behind-the-scenes, making-of stories, including a conversation with directors Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg; a sit-down with the two young newcomers who play Henry and Carina; the secrets behind the menacing new villain, Salazar, and his ferocious ghost sharks; an on-set visit with Jack’s first mate from all five films; a chat with Sir Paul McCartney who appears as Uncle Jack; and a discussion about the franchise’s legacy; along with hilarious bloopers, deleted scenes and memories from producer Jerry Bruckheimer’s photo diary.” No other details are yet available. You can see the cover art at left.

Arrow Video has announced the US and UK Blu-ray release of Blood Feast, J.D.’s Revenge, and George Romero: Between Night and Dawn (includes Crazies, Season of the Witch, and There’s Always Vanilla) for October. UK only titles coming from them in October include Miracle Mile and John Carpenter’s The Thing.

Sony’s Spider-Man: Homecoming is now available for pre-order on Amazon on Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD. [Update: Sony has just set Bram Stoker’s Dracula for 4K Ultra HD release on 10/3 as well.]

Now then... as anticipated, I’ll be at the D23 convention tomorrow in Anaheim, so anything interesting I learn there (about anything) I’ll post on my Twitter and Facebook. In the meantime, have a great weekend!

In announcement news today, WB Home Entertainment has just set Shameless: The Complete Seventh Season for Blu-ray and DVD release on 9/26. The studio has also confirmed the 9/19 Blu-ray and DVD release of Arrow: The Complete Fifth Season.

Meanwhile, BBC Home Entertainment has set Ripper Street: Season Five for Blu-ray and DVD release on 8/29.

Universal will release JD Dillard’s Slight on Blu-ray and DVD on 8/1. Also coming that day from the studio on both formats is Joseph Ruben’s The Ottoman Lieutenant. [Read on here…]

Kino Lorber has revealed that they’re working on a new Blu-ray and DVD release of William Dieterle’s I’ll Be Seeing You (1944), starring Ginger Rogers, Joseph Cotten, and Shirley Temple. No street date is yet available.

A distributor called Altered Innocence has set Kuba Czekaj’s Baby Bump for release on Blu-ray on 9/5.

For anime fans, Bayview Entertainment will release the Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin – Chronicle of Char and Sayla Collection on Blu-ray on 8/1. There will be a DVD version as well that same day.

Mill Creek Entertainment has set Blackbeard: The Complete Miniseries for Blu-ray release on 8/1. The series stars Angus Macfadyen and Jessica Chastain.

Finally this week, we wanted to leave you with this… last night in Los Angeles, thousands of fans gathered Downtown to experience a special ceremony honoring the late Adam West. L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti and Police Chief Charlie Beck, joined by actors Burt Ward and Lee Meriwether, lit the Bat Signal on the side of City Hall. We simply can’t think of a more fitting way to honor West and his legacy. Here’s a photo taken by our old friend Ed Peters at the event (thanks Ed!)…

The big release news today is that Lionsgate has set The Circle, starring Tom Hanks and Emma Watson, for Blu-ray and DVD release on 8/1, with the Digital HD version due on 7/18. [Read on here…]

Lionsgate has also set Ash vs Evil Dead: Season Two for Blu-ray and DVD release on 8/22. Extras will include audio commentaries, a Season 2 First Look, 8 featurettes (Inside the World of Ash vs Evil Dead, Up Your Ash, Women Who Kick Ash, Puppets Are Cute, Dawn of the Spawn, Bringing Henrietta Back, The Delta, and How to Kill a Deadite), plus a Fatality Mash-Up.

Arrow Video has announced some good new Blu-ray titles. Coming in the U.K. only on Blu-ray/DVD Combo are The Day of the Jackal (on 9/4) and Mario Bava’s Kill, Baby... Kill (on 9/11). In the U.S., look for The Ghoul (on 9/5) and Children of the Corn (on 9/19). And coming to both the US and UK are The Suspicious Death of a Minor (on 9/12) and A Fish Called Wanda (on 9/19). You can see the cover art and pre-order the US versions of a couple of these titles below.

Kino Lorber will release Beggars of Life (1928) and Varieté (1925) on Blu-ray on 8/22.

HBO will release Master of the Drunken Fist: Beggar So and Master of the Shadowless Kick: Wong Kei-Ying on DVD only on 8/8.

20th Century Fox is releasing Bones: Season 12 – The Final Chapter and Bones: The Flesh and Bones Collection – Seasons 1-12 on DVD only on 6/13.

The big news today is that Disney has just announced a new Bambi: Anniversary Edition – Walt Disney Signature Collection for release on Blu-ray/DVD combo, DVD, and digital on 6/6 (SRP $39.99). The Disney Movies Anywhere version will be available on 5/23. Extras will include most of the classic Blu-ray bonus features, along with the following all-new content: The Bambi Effect, Studio Stories: Bambi, 2 deleted scenes (Bambi’s Ice and Snow and The Grasshopper), Bambi Fawn facts, and the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit animated short Africa Before Dark. There’s also a digital exclusive short: Celebrating Tyrus Wong. You can see the cover art to the left and below.

The other big news is that HBO has announced the Blu-ray and DVD release of the successful Big Little Lies limited series on 8/1, and the digital version is actually available today for those who can’t wait. Extras will include 6 Inside the Episode featurettes, plus the About Big Little Lies featurette with “never-before-seen cast interviews and behind-the-scenes footage.” [Read on here…]

Moving on, 20th Century Fox has set The Strain: Season Three for DVD only release on 6/27, featuring the Under Siege Companion Series Intro with Carlton Cuse, The Strain: Under Siege – Companion Series, a music video, deleted scenes, and a gag reel.

It also looks like 20th Century Fox is getting ready to release Ridley Scott’s Prometheus on 4K Ultra HD, which makes sense because we know that Alien: Covenant will be released on the format later this year. There’s no street date yet for Prometheus, but we would expect it probably concurrent with the home video release of Covenant in time for the holidays. It would certainly be interesting if the original Alien were on tap for 4K this year, but I could see Fox saving that for the eventual home video release of Alien: Awakening, the expected sequel to Covenant. And consider that the 40th anniversary of the original Alien is just two years away (in 2019). We’ll see. You can see the Prometheus cover artwork (and pre-order the title) below.

While we’re talking 4K, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has just announced the release of their CG-animated Resident Evil: Vendetta on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD format on 7/18. The digital release is expected on 6/20. Extras will include audio commentary (in Japanese with English subs) with director Takanori Tsujimoto, executive producer Takashi Shimizu and writer Makoto Fukami, 3 featurettes (The Creature, Motion Capture Set Tour with Dante Carver, and CGI to Reality: Designing Vendetta), a still gallery, and a bonus disc with 3 more featurettes (BSAA Mission Briefing: Combat Arias, Designing the World of Vendetta, and 2016 Tokyo Game Show Footage).

Our friends at Shout! Factory have just announced the 8/22 Blu-ray release of Hercules (1983) and The Adventures of Hercules (1985), starring Lou Ferrigno. Both are Cannon Pictures films directed by Luigi Cozzi. Details will follow in the weeks ahead, but Shout! is sure keeping the deep catalog and cult classic titles coming.

Scream Factory has also announced the Blu-ray release of the Empire Pictures cult classic Vicious Lips (1986) on 8/29. Again, details will be announced at a later date.

Also today, Lionsgate is releasing The Missing: Season Two on DVD only on 7/11.

Back to Arrow for a moment, the company has just set a new Re-Animator: Limited Edition for release on Blu-ray Disc on 7/25, featuring new 4K restorations of both the Unrated and Intergal version of the film with lots of extras.

Meanwhile, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment will release The Belko Experiment on Blu-ray and DVD on 6/27.

Fox has also just set Prison Break: The Event Series for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 6/6.

Scorpion Releasing has set Ten Little Indians (1965) for release on Blu-ray on 6/20.

Any fans of the space program out there? Gravitas Ventures has just set David Fairhead’s terrific documentary Mission Control for release on BD-R and DVD-R on 6/13. The film is about the Apollo-era mission controllers (guys like Gene Kranz) who made landing on the Moon possible. The film is now available on most streaming services (including Amazon Prime) and I highly encourage you to check it out.

Kino Classics has set Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters for Blu-ray release on 6/13. This is a filmed 1970 stage production directed by Laurence Olivier. Kino has also set The Man in the Glass Booth (1975) and Zaza (1932) for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 6/6.

And Music Box Films has set François Ozon’s Franz for release on Blu-ray on 6/13.

Finally today, we need to take a moment to acknowledge the passing of acclaimed director Jonathan Demme. Though he was best known for Silence of the Lambs, his other works included Melvin and Howard, Something Wild, Philadelphia, Married to the Mob, and most recently Rachel Getting Married. But it’s for his 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense – quite simply one of the finest concert films ever made – that I appreciate him most. Demme died of cancer. He was 73. You can read more here at The New York Times.

In announcement news today, Broad Green Pictures has set The Lost City of Z for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 7/11.

Twilight Time has revealed their May Blu-ray slate, due on 5/16. They include Kiyoshi Saeki’s Brutal Tales of Chivalry aka Shôwa zankyô-den (1965), Roy Baker’s Inferno (1953) in both 2D and 3D, Robert Mulligan’s The Man in the Moon (1991), Michael Winner’s The Stone Killer (1973), and Karel Reisz’s Who’ll Stop the Rain (1978). All are limited to just 3,000 units each and carry an SRP of $29.95 except Brutal Tales of Chivalry which is $24.95 and is Region A locked. Pre-orders open on 5/3 at 1 PM Pacific on Twilight Time Movies and Screen Archives Entertainment.

FUNimation has just set the anime Record of Lodoss War: The Complete OVA Series + Chronicles of the Heroic Knight: The Complete Series for Blu-ray/DVD Combo release on 7/18 (SRP $84.98). Record of Lodoss War will be included on both formats, while Chronicles of the Heroic Knight will be DVD only.

And Kino Lorber Studio Classics has revealed that they’re working on new Blu-ray and DVD releases of Bernard L. Kowalski’s Krakatoa: East of Java (1968) and James Cruz’s Old Ironsides (1926). Both are coming soon.

All right, first things first today: We have a quick bit of follow-up for you this morning on those annual original Star Wars release rumors, the latest appearance of which caused a bit of a stir yesterday (and which we commented on in yesterday’s post). I know... we’re getting tired of talking about it too, but we have what seems to be rather definitive new information.

We’ve essentially confirmed that Disney’s current 4K scan of the film is the most recent revised version (essentially the latest “special edition”), not the original theatrical edition. What’s more, Disney’s director of Library Restoration and Preservation, Theo Gluck, held a special event at Ohio State University’s Wexner Center for the Arts last night, a presentation called Animation Restoration at Walt Disney Studios. Gluck was asked there about Star Wars and reported that the original cut negative for the film currently exists in its “SE” configuration only. (There’s more info, so do continue on past the jump.) [Read on here…]

In addition, 20th Century Fox’s Senior Vice President of Library and Technical Services, Shawn Belston, was also on hand at the Wexner event last night. He confirmed that all of the “trims” removed from the original cut negative (in the mid-1990s, to create the SEs) still exist as well. (Thanks to Bits reader Chuck P., who attended this event, for his firsthand report.) So what does all that mean to you?

In summary: When George Lucas says that the original Star Wars no longer exists, it’s a little like Obi-Wan telling Luke that Darth Vader killed his father; he’s speaking truthfully… from a certain point of view. From any other point of view, however, it’s silliness. The point is, while it is essentially technically true that the ‘77 cut negative “no longer exists” in its original state, it is also technically true that it could be re-built if so desired. All of the needed film elements still survive and have been preserved. Original Star Wars still exists and could be re-released on disc and in theaters, if the will to do so was there. Nevertheless, if one takes Gluck and Belston at their word (and knowing them as we do, we certainly do) this would seem to be fairly official word that no such reconstruction work has been done to date. Thus, it appears that there is little chance of the original 1977 Star Wars being released on any home video format in 2017.

Meanwhile, however, we also know (from checking in again with our sources yesterday) that original high-quality prints of the theatrical editions continue to exist in various film archives around the world, as well as in the hands of private collectors. So… the Saga continues. In the meantime, as we said yesterday, Harmy’s Star Wars Despecialized Editions are out there in the digital ether of the Interwebs in 720p HD and are well worth the effort needed to track them down (you can learn everything you need to do so here and here).

FYI, a couple of other bits of interesting information that Chuck passed on to us from last night’s Wexler event: About 100 of the 400 or so classic Disney animated shorts have been scanned in 4K (at Warner) and restored. Also, new 4K restoration work has been done on Disney’s Song of the South to fix certain shots previously out of alignment (because of a faulty camera used during the original photography), though no public release is currently planned. Fascinating.

All right, we had a couple of other things planned to go up in today’s post, but given the need to dig in and get to the bottom of this Star Wars story, the original plan for today’s column fell by the wayside. We’ll post that stuff on Monday instead.

In other (announcement) news today, Acorn Media has set Humans: Series 2 for Blu-ray and DVD release on 10/31. The season is currently being broadcast in the U.S. on AMC and it’s pretty good, more cerebral and straightforward than HBO’s Westworld but covering similar ground.

Warner Bros. has set The Vampire Diaries: The Complete Eighth and Final Season for Blu-ray and DVD release on 6/13 (SRP $44.98 and $39.99). A box set of The Vampire Diaries: The Complete Series (Seasons 1-8) will also be released that day on Blu-ray and DVD (SRP $234.99 and $189.99). On the animated front, Warner has set Vixen: The Movie for Blu-ray release on 5/23. And Warner and TNT have set The Last Ship: The Complete Third Season for Blu-ray release on 5/2 (SRP $39.99).

Arrow Video has announced a 3-disc Evil Ed: Limited Edition for Blu-ray release on 5/30. Also coming from Arrow Academy on that day is George Franju’s Spotlight on a Murderer: Special Edition. Due on 5/16 from Arrow Video is Pasquale Squitieri’s The Climber: Special Edition. And on 5/9, look for their Brain Damage: Special Edition. SRP for each is $39.95.

Kino Lorber has added Alfred Hitchcock’s The Paradine Case (1947) to its list of Studio Classics “coming soon” to Blu-ray and DVD.

Finally today, in 4K news, sources are telling us that Sony is quietly planning a 40th Anniversary release of Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind for later this year, likely to include 4K Ultra HD. And again, David Lean’s The Bridge on the River Kwai is planned for release in 4K later this year too.

Retail sources are also now telling us to expect Logan, Life, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, Dunkirk, Blade Runner: 2049, and the new live action Ghost in the Shell to arrive on the 4K format this year, following their theatrical release in the months ahead.

And that’s all for now. We’ll leave you with a look at the cover artwork for Lionsgate’s 3:10 to Yuma, The Expendables, and The Expendables 2 in 4K, all of which are now available for pre-order on Amazon…

We also now have official Target and Best Buy pre-order links (click on the images below) for their respective retail-exclusive versions of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story…

All right, we’ve had family visiting for a couple weeks but things have finally started to get back to normal here, so we’re back to our usual daily updates. And we have a bunch of new release news to report today...

Now then, in announcement news today, Lionsgate has just revealed that their next Vestron Video Collector’s Series release will include the Wishmaster Collection: 4-Film Set on 3/28 (SRP $49.99). Wishmaster will include audio commentary (with director Robert Kurtzman and screenwriter Peter Atkins), audio commentary (with Kurtzman and stars Andrew Divoff and Tammy Lauren), an isolated score selections track with an audio interview of composer Harry Manfredini, 6 featurettes (Out of the Bottle, The Magic Words, The Djinn and Alexandra, Captured Visions, Wish List, and Making of Wishmaster), trailers, TV spots, image galleries & more. Wishmaster 2: Evil Never Dies will include audio commentary (with writer/director Jack Sholder), a trailer, and a still gallery. Wishmaster 3: Beyond the Gates of Hell will include audio commentary (with director Chris Angel and cast members John Novak, Jason Connery, and Louisette Geiss), the Making of Wishmaster 3: Beyond the Gates of Hell featurette, and the trailer. And Wishmaster 4: The Prophecy will include audio commentary (with director Chris Angel and cast members Michael Trucco and Jason Thompson), audio commentary (with Angel and actor John Novak), the Wishmasterpiece Theatre featurette, and the trailer. [Read on here…]

For those of you in the UK, Arrow Video has just announced that they’re working on a new Blu-ray of John Carpenter’s The Thing for release later this year.

Meanwhile, Arrow Video USA has set Wolf Guy for Blu-ray release on 4/25, along with the Three Brothers: Special Edition from Arrow Academy. The Assassin (L’Assassino) streets from Arrow Academy on 4/18. Also coming from Arrow on 4/18 are The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave and The Red Queen Kills Seven Times. And they have Kiju Yoshida: Love + Anarchism, Caltiki: The Immortal Monster, and Django Prepare a Coffin set for Blu-ray on 4/11.

Also, Arrow’s Donnie Darko: 4-Disc Limited Edition is officially due on 4/18 (SRP $49.95). The set will include new 4K restorations (presented in both 1080p Blu-ray and SD DVD) of both the Theatrical Cut and the Director’s Cut from the original camera negatives, supervised and approved by director Richard Kelly and cinematographer Steven Poster. Audio will be DTS-HD 5.1 on Blu-ray. Extras will include audio commentary (by writer-director Richard Kelly and actor Jake Gyllenhaal) on the Theatrical Cut, audio commentary (by Kelly, producer Sean McKittrick and actors Drew Barrymore, Jena Malone, Beth Grant, Mary McDonnell, Holmes Osborne, Katharine Ross, and James Duval) on the Theatrical Cut, audio commentary (by Kelly and filmmaker Kevin Smith) on the Director’s Cut, the brand-new Deus ex Machina: The Philosophy of Donnie Darko documentary, Kelly’s 1996 short film The Goodbye Place, The Donnie Darko Production Diary archival documentary, 20 deleted and alternate scenes with optional commentary by Kelly, archival interviews (with Kelly, actors Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Drew Barrymore, James Duval, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Holmes Osborne, Noah Wyle and Katharine Ross, producers Sean McKittrick, Nancy Juvonen, Hunt Lowry and Casey La Scala, and cinematographer Steven Poster), 3 archival featurettes (They Made Me Do It, They Made Me Do It Too, and #1 Fan: A Darkomentary), storyboard comparisons, B-roll footage, the Cunning Visions infomercials, Gary Jules’ Mad World music video, galleries, trailers, TV spots, and an exclusive collector’s book. You can see the cover artwork for this title above left and below.

Moving on this afternoon, Acorn Media will release The Witness for the Prosecution on Blu-ray and DVD on 4/25.

Severin Films will release Return of Kung Fu: Trailers of Fury on Blu-ray on 3/14. The set includes “35 original trailers from The Golden Age of Martial Arts Cinema, starring such legends as Angela Mao, Bolo Yeung, Don Wong, Chang Yi, Bruce Li, Leanne Liu, Lo Lieh and even Chuck Norris. It’s an indomitable dynasty of Hong Kong classics that includes Yellow-Faced Tiger, Bruce and the Iron Finger, Revenge of the Shaolin Kid, The Avenging Boxer, Snuff-Bottle Collection, Hell’s Windstaff, Thundering Mantis, The Legendary Strike, Kung Fu Killers, Crazy Horse & Intelligent Monkey, Shaolin Invincible Sticks and more!” There’s also audio commentary. SRP is $24.95. Note that Severin also has Drive-In Massacre due on Blu-ray that same day.

Speaking of anime, Funimation has announced Starmyu: Complete Series for Blu-ray release on 3/7, a Wolf Children: Hosoda Collector’s Edition for Blu-ray release on 3/14, Attack on Titan: Junior High on Blu-ray on 3/21, and Steins;Gate – Load Region of Deja Vum, Tenchi! Muyo! War On Geminar, Luck & Logic: Season One, and Fairy Tail: Collection Seven all on Blu-ray on 3/28.

Kino Lorber has revealed that Michael Oblowitz’s The World, Then the Fireworks (1997) is coming soon to Blu-ray and DVD. Also coming soon is David Miller’s Twist of Fate (1954) and the Jerry Lewis comedy Visit to a Small Planet (1960), directed by Norman Taurog.

The Warner Archive has set Ken Russell’s The Boyfriend, starring Twiggy, for Blu-ray release on 2/21.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has set The Net and Osamu Tezuka’s Metropolis for Blu-ray release on 2/21 as part of their Choice Collection MOD BD-R line of catalog titles. SRP is $26.99 each.

In terms of actual 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray titles that we’ve learned are on the way, Warner is preparing Live by Night, while Sony is expecting to release Underworld: Blood Wars. You guys already know about Dario Argento’s Zombi: Dawn of the Dead, but Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is available on 4K UHD in Germany from Turbine Classics (Rough Trade Distribution), and a company called Alive has made Hugo Fregonese’s western Savage Pampas (1966 – aka Die Verfluchten der Pampas) available on the format too.

We kick things off today here at The Bits with a brand new History, Legacy & Showmanship column from our own Michael Coate. This time, Michael takes a look back at the Bond film Diamonds Are Forever in honor of the film’s 45th anniversary this year (it was originally released in the U.S. on 12/17/1971). His column features another great roundtable discussion with leading Bond experts and film historians, including Jon Burlingame, John Cork, Bill Desowitz, Lee Pfeiffer, and Bruce Scivally. We certainly hope you enjoy it!

In announcement news today, Lionsgate has set Mel Gibson’s Hacksaw Ridge for Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release on 2/21. Extras will include The Soul of War: Making Hacksaw Ridge documentary, deleted scenes, a Veteran’s Day greeting and the film’s trailer.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is releasing From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series – Season Three on Blu-ray and DVD on 2/7.

Sony has also set a Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner: 50th Anniversary Edition for Blu-ray release on 2/7.

The studio has set Ron Howard’s Inferno for Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release on 1/24.

Paramount will release Jack Reacher: Never Go Back on all three formats on 1/31.

And Arrow Video has set House: Two Stories for Blu-ray release on 3/21, with the Dead or Alive Trilogy sue on 3/14.

On the hardware front, Samsung has just announced their second generation 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player for release in early 2017, the Samsung UBD-M9500. SRP and street date are still TBA, but the new player will have the ability to automatically adjusts its A/V playback quality to match your display and audio system’s optimal capabilities. It will also feature a Private Cinema Mode that allows you use Bluetooth headphones for late night UHD Blu-ray viewing, and the unit will allow for Bluetooth movie playback on your mobile devices too. Here’s what it looks like...

Finally, we’d be remiss if we didn’t take a moment to acknowledge the passing of Hollywood legend Debbie Reynolds, just a day after the death of her daughter, Carrie Fisher. It’s hard to find the words to express how sad this is. Reynolds appeared in so many classic films over the years including Singin’ in the Rain (1952), How the West Was Won (1963), and The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964) and so many others. As it happens, HBO has been putting the finishing touches on a documentary on Debbie and Carrie’s relationship over the years called Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds. It’s expected to air on the network in 2017. You can read more on Reynolds’ passing here at Variety.

We’ll leave you today with a look at the cover artwork for a few of the Blu-ray and 4K titles mentioned above (click on the covers to pre-order them on Amazon.com)...

There should be something for everyone in that batch, so we hope you enjoy them! Be sure to check back on Monday for more 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray reviews, as well as a new History, Legacy & Showmanship column from our own Michael Coate for a title that… well, let me give you a clue…

I hope you’re all enjoying your various Halloween marathons, parties, and other activities. I’ve been busy getting a lot of reviews ready as this has been a heavy couple of months for horror releases, as I’m sure you already know. I know I won’t get to all of it before the month is out, but I’ll get to as many of them as I can. I have some good titles lined up for the rest of this week and, hopefully, we won’t have a repeat of Friday and we can stay on schedule.

This week I’ll be checking out several new titles from Scream Factory, Lionsgate, Arrow Video, and Warner Bros. As usual, we’ll be rolling each review out one at a time all week, so be sure to check back for new ones.

While you’re at it, if you see something you like, why don’t you purchase it through the Amazon links that we’ve provided in each review? A portion of anything that you order from Amazon after clicking through to them from our links goes to help support our work here at The Bits, and we really do appreciate your support.

That’s all from me for this week, so see you next time and enjoy the reviews!

Just a quick update for you today, as we’re working on new Blu-ray and 4K UHD reviews for you...

First up, Scream Factory has just announced the list of extras you’ll find on their 2-disc The Exorcist III: Collector’s Edition Blu-ray, which streets on 10/25. Disc One will include The Exorcist III: Theatrical Cut via new 2K IP scan, with a vintage featurette, vintage interviews, a delete scene, alternate takes, bloopers, a deleted prologue, theatrical trailers, TV spots, and photo galleries. Disc Two will include Legion (the Original Director’s Cut) with all-new extras including an audio interview with writer/director William Peter Blatty and 5 featurettes (A “Wonderfull” Time, Signs of the Gemini, The Devil in the Details, Music for a Padded Cell, and All This Bleeding). You can see the cover artwork at right and below. [Read on here…]

Lionsgate has set James Schamus’ Indignation for Blu-ray and DVD release on 11/8. The studio will also release Gus Van Sant’s The Sea of Trees on Blu-ray and DVD on 11/1, and they’ve set Harley and the Davidsons for BD and DVD release on 12/13.

Arrow Films in the U.S. has just set Michael Gornick’s Creepshow 2 for Blu-ray release on 12/13 in Special Edition and Limited Edition versions (SRP $34.95 and $39.95 on Amazon), both mastered from a new 2K restoration. Both will feature audio commentary with director Michael Gornick moderated by Perry Martin, original stereo audio with optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing, 2 featurettes (Nightmares in Foam Rubber and My Friend Rick), additional behind-the-scenes footage, trailers and TV spots, and reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Mike Saputo. The first pressing of the Special Edition will include a collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Michael Blyth. The Limited Edition (which comes in a red slipcase) will include that booklet as well as the Creepshow 2: Pinfall limited edition booklet featuring the never-before-seen comic adaptation of this unfilmed Creepshow 2 segment by artist Jason Mayoh. You can see both versions below.

Note that Arrow has also set Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Pulse for 2-disc Blu-ray release on 12/6 (SRP $39.95).

Meanwhile, Starz and Anchor Bay have set Black Sails: The Complete Third Season and Into the Badlands: The Complete First Season for Blu-ray and DVD release on 11/8.

The Weinstein Company and Anchor Bay have set Reign of Assassins and The Lost Bladesman for release on DVD and digital on 11/1.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release Hell on Wheels: Season Five, Volume 2 – The Final Episodes, as well as Hell on Wheels: The Complete Series, on Blu-ray and DVD on 11/1.

Vinegar Syndrome has set Hobgoblins, Nightmare Sisters, and a double feature of Murder Weapon & Deadly Embrace for release on Blu-ray on 10/25.

And Kino Lorber has revealed that it’s working on a new 2K restoration and Blu-ray release of Felix E. Feist’s 1933 disaster film Deluge, along with a Film Foundation 4K restoration of Henry Hathaway’s 23 Paces to Baker Street (1956), Michael Campus’ Z.P.G. (Zero Population Growth) (1972), and Robert Wise’s A Game of Death (1945). Kino has also announced Steven Hilliard Stern’s This Park Is Mine (1986) for Blu-ray and DVD release on 12/13.

Here’s a look at the Blu-ray Disc cover artwork for a few of the titles mentioned above (with Amazon.com pre-order links if available)...

The big news today is that Sony is bringing Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver back to theaters (on 10/16 and 10/19) for its 40th Anniversary, and will re-issue the film on Blu-ray in a new Taxi Driver: 40th Anniversary Edition that’s mastered from the film’s 4K restoration (which was supervised by Scorsese and cinematographer Michael Chapman). The 2-disc set, which streets on 11/8, will include much legacy bonus material along with a new 40-minute Q&A with Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster and more, recorded live at the Beacon Theatre in New York City at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival.

The specific list of extras includes: Disc One – Taxi Driver Q&A, Interactive Script to Screen, original 1986 commentary with Scorsese and writer Paul Schrader (recorded by The Criterion Collection), additional commentaries by Schrader and by Professor Robert Kolker, 6 featurettes (Martin Scorsese on Taxi Driver, Producing Taxi Driver, God’s Lonely Man, Taxi Driver Stories, Travis’ New York, and Travis’ New York Locations), and the film’s theatrical trailer; Disc Two – The Making of Taxi Driver documentary, Storyboard to Film Comparisons (with Scorsese introduction), and Animated Photo Galleries. You can see the cover artwork above left and below. [Read on here…]

Meanwhile, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has set the Rush Hour Trilogy for Blu-ray release on 10/11, including Rush Hour, Rush Hour 2, and Rush Hour 3, with a brand new bonus disc of extras that includes the Brett & Jackie: A Look Back at Rush Hour featurette. All the original special features for each film will carry over as well. SRP is $24.98.

Warner and Lucasfilm have also set Lego Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures – The Complete Season One for Blu-ray and DVD release on 12/6. All 13 episodes will be included.

Any fans of Richard Kelly’s Donnie Darko out there? Arrow Video is releasing a new 4-disc Donnie Darko: Limited Edition Blu-ray/DVD Combo set on 12/12 (in Region B only for now – SRP £34.99). It includes an amazing list of bonus features, including new 4K restorations of both the Theatrical Cut and the Director’s Cut from the original camera negatives supervised and approved by director Richard Kelly and cinematographer Steven Poster, both HD and SD presentations of both cuts, 5.1 DTS-HD on Blu-ray, commentary by Kelly and actor Jake Gyllenhaal on the Theatrical Cut, commentary by Kelly, producer Sean McKittrick and actors Drew Barrymore, Jena Malone, Beth Grant, Mary McDonnell, Holmes Osborne, Katharine Ross and James Duval on the Theatrical Cut, commentary by Kelly and filmmaker Kevin Smith on the Director’s Cut, brand-new interviews with Richard Kelly and others, Kelly’s 1996 short film The Goodbye Place, The Donnie Darko Production Diary, archive interviews (with Kelly, actors Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Drew Barrymore, James Duval, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Holmes Osborne, Noah Wyle and Katharine Ross, producers Sean McKittrick, Nancy Juvonen, Hunt Lowry and Casey La Scala, and cinematographer Steven Poster), 3 archive featurettes (They Made Me Do It, They Made Me Do It Too, and #1 Fan: A Darkomentary), storyboard comparisons, B-roll footage, Cunning Visions infomercials, Gary Jules’ Mad World music video, galleries, trailers, TV spots, and an exclusive collector’s book (containing new writing by Nathan Rabin, Anton Bitel and Jamie Graham, an in-depth interview with Richard Kelly, introduction by Jake Gyllenhaal and contemporary coverage, illustrated with original stills and promotional materials). Here’s what it looks like (click on the image to pre-order it via Amazon.co.uk)...

Also today, Shout Factory has set the Bruce Lee films Fists of Fury and The Chinese Connection as their new Shout Select Collector’s Edition titles due on Blu-ray on 12/6.

And Universal Studios Home Entertainment has set Bad Moms for Blu-ray and DVD release on 11/1, with the Digital HD version due on 10/18. Extras will include deleted scenes, a gag reel, and Cast & Mom Interviews.

Here’s a look at the Blu-ray cover artwork for a number of the titles mentioned above, with clickable Amazon.com pre-order links (if available)...

Back this week with more reviews. Not a lot happening movie-wise, although I am pleased that the new horror movie Don’t Breathe is doing well at the box office. Perhaps I’ll be able to catch it at some point. We’re also starting to break out the Halloween decorations, and if anybody knows us, we go all out. Hopefully I can share a couple of pictures with you when we get it all up. If nothing else, they’ll definitely pop up on social media at some point.

This week I’ll be checking out three new titles from Arrow Video, all of them for players in the U.S. As usual, we’ll be rolling each review out one at a time all week, so be sure to check back for new ones.

While you’re at it, if you see something you like, why don’t you purchase it through the Amazon links that we’ve provided in each review? A portion of anything that you order from Amazon after clicking through to them from our links goes to help support our work here at The Bits, and we really do appreciate your support.

Also, for anyone who listens to my Podcast Salmonella show, I’m changing the format of it and doing something radically different with it. Previously, I would get myself and various guests on to chat about movies, music, and comic books, but I’m a little bored with the results and I thought I’d do an experiment with it and see how it turns out. Hopefully it will be done soon. I still might do a regular show occasionally, and you can still check out the older shows on both YouTube and Soundcloud.

That’s all from me for this week, so see you next time and enjoy the reviews!

Now then, you may have wondered why there was no update here at The Bits yesterday. It’s because I was invited by our friends at TheOneRing.net to appear on their TORnTuesdays live webcast about all things Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. That required a drive up to Meltdown Comics in Hollywood, there to be joined by my old friend Michael Pellerin, who (as you probably know) is the producer who created all of the great bonus content for The Appendices on the LOTR and Hobbit DVDs and Blu-rays. Naturally, the subject of our discussion was LOTR and Hobbit on Blu-ray, the new (crazy expensive) Middle-Earth UCE set and what Michael and Peter Jackson really want to do for a truly ultimate and worthy collection of all these films on Blu-ray. I pushed Michael to talk about their plans and he reveals much that you Rings fans won’t want to miss. If that wasn’t interesting enough, we’re even joined about halfway through the 2.5 hour discussion by Hobbit cast member William Kircher, who played the dwarf Bifur in the trilogy. We really had a great time, so thanks to Cliff and Justin for inviting us to join them. I’ll post the webcast here (below) when it’s available on YouTube. Meanwhile, I’ll post the Facebook video link for you all to watch on The Bits Facebook page (here) if you’re interested.

WEBCAST COMING SOON

All right, let’s talk Star Trek Beyond. I’ve now gotten pretty reliable information via retail sources that Paramount’s Star Trek: Beyond (BD, BD3D, DVD & 4K), as well as a Star Trek Trilogy Blu-ray Collection (including 2009, Into Darkness, and Beyond) are going to street on 9/20. This hasn’t been officially announced by the studio yet, but we expect the press release any time now. Those same sources are still telling us to expect Paramount and CBS to release Star Trek: The Animated Series as a stand-alone Blu-ray release on 11/15. So make tentative plans accordingly.

[Editor’s Note: Amazon was briefly telling its pre-order customers to expect this title on 9/20, and – as of the original writing of this column – Best Buy was also listing the title as streeting on 9/20 (see link). Other retail sources had privately given us this date as well. However, one Paramount rep has now said 9/20 is not the final street date. We expect the official announcement soon, perhaps on 9/8 which is the 50th Anniversary of Star Trek. Stay tuned.]

Meanwhile, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has just officially set Paul Feig’s Ghostbusters for release on Blu-ray Combo and 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray 3D Combo on 10/11, with a Digital HD release due on 9/27. Each set will include film in both the theatrical edition and an Extended Edition with 15 minutes of additional footage not seen in theaters. Extras on the Blu-rays will include filmmaker audio commentary, 2 gag reels, 4 deleted scenes, 11 alternate scenes, 6 joke reels, 5 featurettes (Chris Hemsworth is ’Kevin’, The Ghosts of Ghostbusters, Meet the Team, Visual Effects: 30 Years Later, and Slime Time), and a photo gallery.

Speaking of Sony, the company has just announced that it’s working with Intel to bring 4K movies to PC computers in the 1st quarter of 2017. Access to Sony Pictures’ Ultra 4K streaming service will be available on PCs with 7th generation Intel Core processors next year, as the hardware arrives in stores. From the press release: “Coinciding with the expanded availability of the service, ULTRA will add new features like 48 hour rentals and free 10 minute previews, allowing customers to experience a sample of any film on the service in full 4k resolution before buying. ULTRA initially launched in early 2016 on Sony 4K Televisions. Films available on the service for purchase, rental, and streaming on ULTRA include new releases as well as a library of classic films. New releases are priced at $29.99 to own in 4K with HDR, and will be $7.99 for 48 hour rental. Library titles are priced at $25.99 to own.” So there you go.

Also, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment has just officially set Ice Age: Collision Course for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD formats on 10/11. Extras include a gallery and 6 featurettes (Scrat: Spaced Out Mini-Movie, Ice Age: The Story So Far, Scratasia: Scrat’s Solo Adventures, Mysteries of the Scratazons, Star Signs of the Animal Kingdom, The Science of It All: deGrasse Tyson deBunks, and Figaro Sing-along).

Here’s a look at the cover artwork for some of the titles mentioned above, with Amazon.com pre-order links if they’re available...

All right, we’ve got a bunch of interesting announcement news and other bits of Blu-ray-related information for you today, so let’s get right to it…

FUNimation has announced that they’ve gotten the rights to release the new Shin Godzilla film here in the States, both in theaters and on disc. Watch for more news on that soon. The company has also announced the forthcoming Blu-ray release of Ergo Proxy for the first time in the U.S. and Canada, as well as Attack on Titan live action movie releases on Blu-ray and DVD – Part One on 10/6 and Part Two TBA. They’re also releasing a Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign – Collector’s Edition and Season One, Part Two on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD on 9/27. There’s still no word on Speed Racer/Mach GoGoGo, but we know they’re planned for release on Blu-ray by FUNimation in 2017, which is the series’ 50th anniversary. [Read on here…]

Also today, Shout Factory has finally detailed a few of their upcoming Blu-ray releases as follows...

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension: Collector’s Edition (due 8/16) will include (on the Blu-ray) the new 2-hour Into the 8th Dimension retrospective documentary, new audio commentary by Michael and Denise Okuda, audio commentary with director W.D. Richter and writer Earl Mac Rauch, and (on the DVD) vintage features, among them the Buckaroo Banzai Declassified featurette, an alternate opening sequence (with Jamie Lee Curtis), deleted scenes, the Jet Car trailer, and the theatrical trailer.

And The Thing: Collector’s Edition (due 9/20) will include a TON of extras, including a new 2K scan of the interpositive supervised and approved by DP Dean Cundey, a new 4.1 audio mix created from the original 70MM six-track Dolby Stereo soundtrack (the 5.1 audio mix is also included), a new audio commentary with Cundey, a new audio commentary with co-producer Stuart Cohen, the original audio commentary with director John Carpenter and actor Kurt Russell, the teaser trailer, theatrical trailers (U.S. and German), TV spots, radio spots, and a still gallery (behind-the-scenes photos, posters, and lobby cards). All that is on Disc One. Disc Two will add 9 all-new featurettes (Requiem for a Shape Shifter, The Men of Outpost 31, Assembling and Assimilation, Behind the Chameleon: The Visual Effects of The Thing, Sounds from the Cold, Between the Lines, Back into the Cold: A Return to the Shooting Locations of The Thing, and The Art of Mike Ploog Gallery), the vintage John Carpenter’s The Thing: Terror Takes Shape documentary (80 mins/SD), the network TV broadcast version of The Thing (92 mins/SD), Outtakes (5 mins/SD), vintage EPK interviews with John Carpenter, Kurt Russell, and Rob Bottin, 2 vintage featurettes (The Making of a Chilling Tale and The Making of The Thing), a vintage Product Reel with rare footage not seen in the film (19 mins/SD), more vintage Behind-the-Scenes Footage (2 mins/SD), and an Annotated Production Archive (featuring Production Art and Storyboards, Location Scouting, Special Make-up Effects, and Post Production – 54 mins/SD).

Whew! Here’s the pre-order links and artwork for all three...

Meanwhile, Kino Lorber has set Man on Fire (1987) for Blu-ray and DVD on 10/11. The Laughing Policeman (1973) and Trouble Man (1972) are due for Blu-ray release on 10/18. Also coming that day on Blu-ray and DVD are The Pit (1981) and Fuzz (1972). Fathom (1967) follows on Blu-ray on 10/25, along with Boy on a Dolphin (1957) on Blu-ray and DVD. And Scavenger Hunt (1979), The Sicilian Clan (1969), and Doomwatch (1972) are all coming soon from Kino on both Blu-ray and DVD.

Arrow Video has announced the Blu-ray and DVD release of Richard Wenk’s Vamp (1986) in the UK in October. The title will be release on Blu-ray only in the US. Also coming in October from Arrow is The Herschell Gordon Lewis Feast as an Amazon.co.uk exclusive, limited to 2500 copies. It will also be made available in the U.S. soon. The set will include 14 films (among them Blood Feast, Scum of the Earth, Two Thousand Maniacs!, Moonshine Mountain, Color Me Blood Red, Something Weird, The Gruesome Twosome, A Taste of Blood, She-Devils on Wheels, Just for the Hell of It, How to Make a Doll, The Wizard of Gore, This Stuff’ll Kill Ya!, and The Gore Gore Girls). And for the serious fan, you can now pre-order Shock and Gore: The Films of Herschell Gordon Lewis Limited Edition box set (just 500 copies each in the U.S. and U.K.). The set will include the same 14 films, plus a TON of exclusive extras and swag. You can only buy it here (for $221.00) and you’d better act fast if you wish to do so (click here or on the box set image below): boxofgore.com.

By the way, file this in the Rumor Mill category, but we’re now hearing a new Star Wars-related Blu-ray rumor from some of our retail and industry sources, and this one makes a bit more sense. Disney and Lucasfilm MAY be planning a Blu-ray 3D box set that would include The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith, plus The Force Awakens, all in 3D. As you know, the prequels were going to be 3D-converted for theatrical release several years ago, but only the 3D conversion of The Phantom Menace was released into theaters (in early 2012), the 3D conversion of Attack of the Clones screened at the Christopher B. Smith Film Center in San Rafael, CA last November (as part of a tribute to Dennis Muren), and Revenge of the Sith finally made its 3D debut at Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim last year. So a Blu-ray release would make sense on a lot of levels, though Fox still owns the physical distribution rights to the prequels (which is not to say that some kind of deal couldn’t be made if the desire was there). We’re digging into this with our sources and will try to confirm one way or another.

Finally today, we want to take a moment to acknowledge the passing of legendary Hollywood producer Garry Marshall on Tuesday. As you know, Marshall created and executive produced 14 popular TV series, including Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, The Odd Couple, and Mork & Mindy, any one of which would be a tremendous legacy all by itself. He also directed such feature films as The Flamingo Kid (1984), Nothing in Common (1986), Overboard (1987), Beaches (1988), Runaway Bride (1999), The Princess Diaries (2001), and Pretty Woman (1990). He will surely be missed. Marshall was 81. You can read more here at The Hollywood Reporter.

I hope all of you had a nice 4th of July celebration this weekend and saw some new movies. I’ve been in binge mode lately, watching anything and everything as much as possible on top of doing other things. As Bill always says, there just isn’t enough time in the day. That won’t stop me from trying though. [Read on here...]

I’d like to acknowledge the passing of two great directors: Robin Hardy and Michael Cimino. Cimino’s Heaven’s Gate is a particular favorite and criminally under seen by film fans. And of course, The Wicker Man is still an effective film that influenced a whole slew of horror and thriller filmmakers. Both men will be missed.

Starting this week, I’m going to take a break from doing 5 titles a week and cut it back down to 3, for several reasons. I want to be able to give each of the titles as much time and focus as they need instead of trying to rush to get them out as quickly possible, but I also have a lot of other things that I want to do and need more time to do them. That includes a couple of new things that I’ll be doing here at The Bits in the latter half of the year, which I know genre fans will enjoy. So be sure to tune in for that.

This week I’ll be checking out a couple of great new Scream Factory titles, as well as an Arrow Video title. As usual, we’ll be rolling each review out one at a time all week, so be sure to check back for new ones.

While you’re at it, if you see something you like, why don’t you purchase it through the Amazon links that we’ve provided in each review? A portion of anything that you order from Amazon after clicking through to them from our links goes to help support our work here at The Bits, and we really do appreciate your support.

Also, if you dig my opinions and such, why don’t you please take some time to check out my podcast, simply called Podcast Salmonella. I try and put up a new episode as often as I can. Myself and various guests have fun chats about movies, music, comic books, etc. So do check it out on both YouTube and Soundcloud.

Thank you for tuning in. This past week, I caught a screening of The Nice Guys and I’m happy to report that it’s one of my favorite films of the year. Movie studios need to ignore its not-so-great box office reception and continue to let Shane Black write and direct more movies, in my opinion. He’s done very few, and that needs to change because they’ve all been excellent, especially this new one. [Read on here...]

Now then, I’m back this week with mostly some Arrow Video titles, but I’m also going to spin a disc from Lionsgate that I didn’t get to see in theater... hint, A24.

As usual, we’ll be rolling each review out one at a time all week, so be sure to check back for new ones.

While you’re at it, if you see something you like, why don’t you purchase it through the Amazon links that we’ve provided in each review? A portion of anything that you order from Amazon after clicking through to them from our links goes to help support our work here at The Bits, and we really do appreciate your support. Also, if you like what I do, please take some time to check out my YouTube channel called Podcast Salmonella. I try to get up a new podcast as frequently as I can. Myself and various guests have fun chats about movies, music, comic books, etc. So please check it out... and I promise, I’ll get up a new episode ASAP.

Now then, the big news today is that Warner Home Video has just officially set the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Ultimate Edition for 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack, Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack, and DVD release on 7/19, with a Digital HD release set for 6/28. SRP for the disc versions will be $44.95, $44.95, $35.99, and $29.98 respectively. From the press release: “The Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack features an Ultra HD Blu-ray disc with the Ultimate Edition in 4K with HDR (which includes 30 minutes of additional footage), a Blu-ray disc with the theatrical version and special features in HD, and Digital HD versions of both the Ultimate Edition and theatrical version. The Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack features the theatrical version of the film in 3D hi-definition and hi-definition, as well as the Ultimate Edition in hi-definition; the Blu-ray Combo Pack features the Ultimate Edition and theatrical version of the film in hi-definition on Blu-ray; and the DVD features the theatrical version in standard definition.” All the Blu-ray versions will include Dolby Atmos audio. The extras are exactly as we listed yesterday, including 11 documentary featurettes (Uniting the World’s Finest, Gods and Men: A Meeting of Giants, The Warrior, The Myth, The Wonder, Accelerating Design: The New Batmobile, Superman: Complexity & Truth, Batman: Austerity & Rage, Wonder Woman: Grace & Power, Batcave: Legacy of the Lair, The Might and the Power of a Punch, The Empire of Luthor, and Save the Bats). We know of several US retailer exclusives currently: Target will have Digibook packaging with a lenticular hologram cover (it changes from Batman to Superman), Best Buy will have Steelbook packaging (with either Batman or Superman) and a version packed with a graphic novel, and Amazon has exclusive box sets packed with either a Batman or Superman figurine. (Walmart has an exclusive too, but we don’t know what it entails at the moment.) You can see the cover artwork for the regular non-exclusive Blu-ray version above left and below (click on the art below to pre-order it from Amazon.com). We’ll share the final Blu-ray 3D and 4K art as soon as it comes in.

Also newly announced by Warner today are the TV titles Supergirl: The Complete First Season (due on Blu-ray and DVD on 8/9), Longmire: The Complete Fourth Season (due widely on DVD on 9/13, and also Blu-ray from the Warner Archive), and 2 Broke Girls: The Complete Fifth Season (due on DVD only on 9/20). Supergirl will include video of the 2015 Comic-Con panel, 2 featurettes (The Man from Mars and A World Left Behind: Krypton), a gag reel, and deleted scenes. 2 Broke Girls will include a gag reel and unaired scenes. Longmire has no extras.

Note also that Warner has set Barbershop: The Next Cut for Blu-ray and DVD release on 7/26.

Meanwhile, Lionsgate has set The Lobster for Blu-ray and DVD release on 8/2 (SRP $24.99 and $19.98 respectively). Extras will include The Fabric of Attraction: Concocting The Lobster featurette.

Are any of you looking forward to the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo and regular Blu-ray Combo release of Ridley Scott’s The Martian: Extended Edition on 6/7? Our friends at Fox have passed along official word that the Blu-ray versions will, in fact, feature Dolby Atmos audio.

And finally today, we have one piece of less than stellar news: I finally heard back from Universal Studios Home Entertainment this morning and have learned that Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: The Complete Remastered Series is not currently on their US Blu-ray release slate for this year. As you know, I posted yesterday that it is coming to Region B in Australia on 8/17. HOWEVER... before some of you get worked up, let me remind you that neither was Battlestar Galactica: The Complete Remastered Series on the US Blu-ray slate when it was originally released in Germany. So I suspect there’s still hope, especially if you guys politely let the studio know (via Facebook and Twitter) that you want to see it on Blu-ray here. So there you go.

We’ll leave you today with a look at some of the Blu-ray and 4K cover art for titles mentioned above and more (click to pre-order them on Amazon, if pre-orders are available)...

In announcement news today, Lionsgate has set the Blu-ray, DVD and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of Criminal for 7/26 (SRP $39.99, $29.95, and $42.99, respectively), with the Digital HD release set for 7/12. The film stars Kevin Costner, Gary Oldman, Tommy Lee Jones, Alice Eve, and Gal Gadot. Extras will include 2 featurettes, 4 deleted scenes, and Madsonik’s Drift and Fall Again music video.

Lionsgate has also set Summer Camp for DVD only on 8/2.

Meanwhile, Warner Home Video has set Supernatural: The Complete Eleventh Season for Blu-ray and DVD release on 9/6.

Speaking of Warner, we finally have some details on the extras you can expect on their forthcoming Blu-ray Combo, Blu-ray 3D Combo, DVD, and 4K Ultra Blu-ray release of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which we expect to street on 7/19. In addition to the Blu-ray versions including both the theatrical cut and a new 30-minute longer Extended Cut, look for 11 behind-the-scenes featurettes (Uniting the World’s Finest, Gods and Men: A Meeting of Giants, The Warrior, The Myth, The Wonder, Accelerating Design: The New Batmobile, Batman: Austerity & Rage, Superman: Complexity & Truth, Wonder Woman: Grace & Power, Batcave: Legacy of the Lair, The Might and the Power of a Punch, The Empire of Luthor, and Save the Bats) and possibly more TBA. All of these new details come courtesy of the UK retailer HMV, which will apparently also have an exclusive Steelbook version of the Blu-ray (Best Buy has it too here in the States). We would expect an official announcement by Warner Home Video soon, so stay tuned.

Also today, Well Go USA has set Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe for Blu-ray and DVD release on 7/5.

And finally, here’s something exciting that we’re investigating: The Australian retailer JB Hi-Fi is showing that Universal will release the original Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: The Complete Remastered Series as an 8-disc Blu-ray box set on 8/17. Readers take note: This NOT the same as those German SD on BD releases we’ve mentioned before. According to the order page, this is the classic 1970s series fully-remastered in HD. Extras will include the theatrical version of the Pilot episode (in Standard Definition), a feature-length version of the episode Flight of the War Witch (in Standard Definition), the syndicated 2-part version of the episode Journey to Oasis (in HD), the ending and opening from the 2-part version of the episode Awakening, the series’ opening titles sans narration, textless opening and closing titles, and isolated music and effects audio tracks on each episode. Not bad. Rest assured, we’ve already got an e-mail into our contacts here at Universal Studios Home Entertainment in the States, and we’ll let you know as soon as we hear back. Meanwhile, here’s a look at the Australian Blu-ray cover artwork...

Afternoon, folks! We hope you all had a fine long holiday weekend. We’d like to send a special shout-out today to all those of you serving in the armed forces around the world, and to the families and friends of the same who have been wounded or made the ultimate sacrifice. Our hats off to you.

Now then, we’re kicking off the shortened week here at The Bits with a couple new Blu-ray reviews...

In release news today, Shout! Factory and Scream have just announced that they’re working on a new 2-disc Blu-ray Collector’s Edition release of John Carpenter’s The Thing. The release is expected sometime in September, and the announcement was made to celebrate Scream’s 4th Anniversary today. Well done, Scream!

Meanwhile, Paramount has set Richard Linklater’s Everybody Wants Some!! for Blu-ray and DVD release on 7/12.

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has just set Arrow: The Complete Fourth Season for Blu-ray and DVD release on 8/30, followed by The Flash: The Complete Second Season for Blu-ray and DVD release on 9/6. Each will include all 23 episodes, plus deleted scenes, gag reels, video of their respective Comic-Con 2015 panels, and multiple behind-the-scenes featurettes. Audio will be 5.1 DTS-HD MA on both Blu-ray versions. SRPs on each are $49.99 for the DVD version and $54.97 for the Blu-ray.

On a similar note, a number of you have asked about the possible Blu-ray and DVD release of some of Netflix’s and Amazon’s original genre series, like Daredevil, The Man in the High Castle, etc. It seems that both companies are content for now to continue distributing these titles as streaming exclusives. Hopefully, that may change down the line.

On the catalog front, Kino Lorber has announced that they’re working on new Blu-ray editions of Daisy Kenyon (1947), Biggles: Adventures in Time (1986), Bad Girl (1931), Western Union (1941), and The Battle of the Sexes (1960).

And MPI will release Tim Blake Nelson’s Anesthesia on Blu-ray and DVD on 7/21.

In other news related to 4K, Twice has an interesting story up on the “attach rates” for 4K TVs. The piece is actually about a month old, but we missed it when it first circulated. The point is that, at one retailer in LA at least (Video & Audio Center), over 50% of the consumers who are purchasing new 4K displays are also buying 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray players. That’s an attach rate higher than VAC has ever seen before for any format. It will be very interesting to see if a similar attach rate applies to consumers and retailers nationwide when the DEG and UHD Alliance begin to report such numbers in the months ahead. Anyway, you can read the piece here.

We’ll leave you today with a look at some of the Blu-ray titles we’ve mentioned above and more (click on the images to pre-order each on Amazon, if pre-orders are available)...

First up today, we’ve confirmed with 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment that The Martian: Extended Edition will be available in 2 SKUs on 6/7 – a 2-disc Blu-ray version and a 3-disc 4K Ultra HD version (which will include a 4K disc plus the 2-disc Blu-ray set). We’ve asked the studio some additional questions about the content of those discs (including whether or not the discs will include both the theatrical cut and Extended Edition versions of the film or just the latter, and whether or not the disc will include the previous BD extras as well as the new features). We’ll let you know as soon as we hear back. Note that there are currently no plans for a Blu-ray 3D release. Meanwhile, we do have the final cover artwork for the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray version, which you can see to the left and below (with the Amazon.com pre-order link). [Read on here…]

Now then... as many of you know (and as we reported here on The Bits last week), Shout! Factory has launched a new Shout Selects line of Collector’s Edition Blu-rays, with the first bactch set to street this Summer. From their press release: “Handpicked by the film buffs at Shout! Factory, Shout Select shines a light on films that deserve a spot on your shelf. From acknowledged classics to cult favorites to unheralded gems, Shout Select celebrates the best in filmmaking, giving these movies the love and attention they deserve.” We’ve mentioned that The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai, Road House, John Carpenter’s Elvis, and both Bill & Ted films are all on the way as part of the line, but we’d like to give a special mention to their new Midnight Run: Collector’s Edition (due on 8/23), which will include a new interview with actor Robert De Niro, as well as interview featurettes with actors Charles Grodin, Joe Pantoliano, John Ashton, and Yaphet Kotto, and writer George Gallo. You’ll also get a vintage making of featurette and the film’s trailer. You can see the final cover artwork below.

Shout! Factory has also set Can Evrenol’s Baskin for Blu-ray release on 8/9.

On the catalog front today, Warner Home Video has set McQ and Chisum for Blu-ray release on 6/7, both starring John Wayne.

Meanwhile, HBO will release Ballers: The Complete First Season on Blu-ray and DVD on 6/14. HBO has also set Vinyl: The Complete First Season for release on both formats on 6/7.

Film Movement will release Billy August’s The Best Intentions on Blu-ray on 6/7.

Arrow Video has set Duccio Tessari’s The Bloodstained Butterfly for Blu-ray/DVD Combo release on 8/23. The studio has also set Wayne Berwick’s Microwave Massacre for Blu-ray/DVD Combo on 8/16. Also coming from the studio on 8/9 are single-film BD editions of all The Yakuza Papers films, including Battles Without Honor and Humanity, Hiroshima Death Match, Police Tactics, and Final Episode.

Moving on, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release Miracles from Heaven on Blu-ray and DVD on 7/12.

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment has set The League: The Final Fantasy (a.k.a. The Final Season) and The League: The Complete Series for DVD only release on 6/14.

Here’s something great: Varèse Sarabande and Tomek Productions are releasing Hollywood in Vienna: The World of James Horner on Blu-ray on 6/24. This is an HD recording of a live concert performance by the ORF Vienna Radio-Symphony Orchestra, conducted by David Newman back in October 2013, honoring the film music of James Horner. It features selections from Horner’s scores for Star Trek II, Avatar, Titanic, The Amazing Spider-Man, Willow, A Beautiful Mind, Aliens, Apollo 13, The Mask of Zorro, The Rocketeer, An American Tail, and Braveheart.

PBS Distribution has set Masterpiece Mystery!: Grantchester Season 2 for DVD and Blu-ray release on 6/14.

Magnolia Home Entertainment has set My Golden Days for DVD and Digital HD on 7/12.

Monarch Home Entertainment has set Dusk for DVD only on 5/24.

Mill Creek Entertainment has set a pair of William Castle Double Feature Blu-rays for release on 7/5, one including 13 Ghosts (1960) and 13 Frightened Girls (1963) and another including Homicidal (1961) and Mr. Sardonicus (1961).

Sentai Filmworks and Section 23 have set Arch Angels for Blu-ray/DVD Combo release on 7/5.

Starz is releasing One More Time, starring Christopher Walken and Amber Heard, on DVD on 6/7.

Lionsgate has set Steven Seagal’s Code of Honor for Blu-ray release on 7/5. They also have the romantic comedy The Perfect Match coming on Blu-ray and DVD on 7/19.

And Universal Studios Home Entertainment has set The Young Messiah for Blu-ray and DVD release on 6/14.

Finally today, some of you may be interested to know that there’s a new 2.7 version of Harmy’s Star Wars: Despecialized available online, which apparently includes improved color timing (over 2.5) and more SD shots upgraded to HD from Team Negative 1’s recent 35mm HD scan (of a print of the original theatrical version of the film). This isn’t an official Harmy release, but it should hold you over until he finishes his own version 3.0. You can read more here in this discussion thread at Original Trilogy.com.

We’ll leave you today with a look at more new and recent cover artwork, including some of the titles mentioned above (click on the covers to pre-order the titles on Amazon if available)...

In announcement news today, Shout! Factory has just announced a new Shout Selects line of premium Blu-ray special edition titles, the first of which is set to be The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension: Collector’s Edition and John Carpenter’s Elvis on 8/16. Those will be followed by the Midnight Run: Collector’s Edition on 8/23, and (before the end of 2016) Roadhouse and Bill & Ted’s Most Excellent Collection. The latter will be a 3-disc BD set including Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure and Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, plus a bonus disc. The extras on The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai have yet to be announced (though they’ll include “a comprehensive retrospective featuring brand-new interviews with members of the cast and crew and more”), but here’s the cover artwork. You can click on it to pre-order the disc on Amazon.com.

Shout and Scream have also set their Invasion of the Body Snatchers: Collector’s Edition Blu-ray for release on 8/2, along with Red Sonja: Queen of Plagues.

By the way, it appears that the street date for Shout’s forthcoming Nighthawks Blu-ray, which had been set for release on 7/19, is now being delayed until 10/18. The reason for the delay is that “new opportunities have arisen for bonus content,” which is fine by me. Anything that makes the release better is worth taking the extra time for. Thanks to all the Bits readers who e-mailed us with this news.

Meanwhile, Syfy and Universal have set The Magicians: Season One for Blu-ray and DVD release on 7/19. Universal has also set the Studio Ghibli animated film Only Yesterday for Blu-ray and DVD release on 7/5.

And Amazon is now taking pre-orders on the TBA Blu-ray release of Warner and DC’s Supergirl: The Complete First Season as well. See the cover artwork below.

Also today, Kino Lorber has revealed a number of new titles they’re working on for Blu-ray release in the months ahead, including Rawhide (1951) and The Mark of Zorro (1940) on 8/2, Modesty Blaise (1966) on 8/23, The Enemy Below (1957) on 9/20, Cabo Blanco (1980) and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother (1975) on 9/27, The Earth Dies Screaming (1964) and Chosen Survivors (1974) on 10/4, and Witchcraft (1964) on 10/11. Also revealed as “coming soon” to Blu-ray are Man on Fire (1987), Boy on a Dolphin (1957), The Laughing Policeman (1973), Wolf Lake (1980), and 100 Rifles (1969).

Synapse Films has set Michael Felsher’s Just Desserts: The Making of Creepshow – Special Edition for Blu-ray release on 7/12. We’re really looking forward to this one.

And here’s something outstanding: FilmRise Releasing and MVD Entertainment Group have just announced the DVD release of Jon Spira’s amazing Elstree 1976 documentary on 6/28! [Editor’s Note: Amazon shows a BD version too, but that appears to be distributed by FilmRise and not MVD.] The documentary looks at the lives of many of the people who played masked and/or secondary characters in the original Star Wars film (think Vader, Boba Fett, Greedo, Stormtroopers, background Rebel pilots), through new interviews with them. A limited theatrical run (in NY and LA) starts tomorrow. Meanwhile, here’s a look at the trailer...

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Finally today, a little bit of follow-up to yesterday’s column on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray: Samsung’s Ultra HD Blu-ray player, the UBD-K8500, has just officially been certified as Ultra HD Premium by the UHD Alliance. This makes the UBD-K8500 the very first Ultra HD player sold in the States to be so certified. As I said in my column yesterday: “Samsung’s UDB-K8500 is the most affordable, most capable, and most stable entry-level player for any new format I’ve seen yet. At a $399 entry-level price point, Samsung’s UDB-K8500 is a steal. And Samsung should be damn proud of it.” I stand by that, and so apparently does the UHD Alliance. You can order the player now here on Amazon.com (or by clicking on the picture below)...

All right, we’ll leave you with a look at more new Blu-ray cover artwork (with clickable Amazon.com pre-order links if available)...

In announcement news today, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment has officially set Eddie the Eagle for Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release on 6/14. Extras will include the 3-part Let the Games Begin: Soaring with Eddie the Eagle documentary (includes All or Nothing: The Hero’s Heart, An Unlikely Friendship: Eddie & Peary, and Attitude is Altitude: Filming the Ski Jumps), and a sill gallery. You can see the cover art to the left and below (with Amazon pre-order links).

Speaking of Fox and 4K, you can now pre-order the Independence Day: 20th Anniversary Edition on Ultra HD Blu-ray on Amazon (again, click on the cover artwork below for the link).

Also today, DreamWorks Animation and 20th Century Fox have set Kung Fu Panda 3 for release on Blu-ray/DVD Combo and DVD on 6/28, and again the Blu-ray cover artwork can be seen below. [Editor’s Note: It appears a Blu-ray 3D version is going to be a Best Buy exclusive.]

In other release news this afternoon, Shout! Factory and Scream have set Psycho IV: The Beginning for Blu-ray release on 8/23. They’ve also set Session 9 for Blu-ray release on 8/16.

Starz and Anchor Bay have listed The Walking Dead: Season 6 for Blu-ray and DVD release on 8/23. They also have Power: The Complete Second Season coming on both formats on 6/14.

Kino Lorber has set the deep catalog films Canadian Pacific (1949) and The Cariboo Trail (1950) for Blu-ray release on 8/9.

BBC Home Entertainment has set Doctor Who: The Complete Second Series for Blu-ray release on 8/23 (following up on their BD release of Doctor Who: The Complete First Series on 6/21), followed by Ripper Street: Season 4 on both Blu-ray and DVD on 9/27, and The Musketeers: Season 3 on both formats on 10/11.

Here’s something interesting: Our friends at Blue Underground have set The Shape of Things to Come (1979) for Blu-ray and DVD release on 8/30.

Acorn will release Murdoch Mysteries: Collection 5-8 and Murdoch Mysteries: Season 9 on both formats on 8/2.

And finally, Raro Video has set Abel Ferrara’s Napoli Napoli Napoli for Blu-ray release on 7/12 (it’s already available on DVD).

Here’s a look at that new Blu-ray and 4K cover artwork mentioned above. Click on the covers to pre-order each title on Amazon.com, and do keep in mind that any time you order literally anything from Amazon after clicking through one of our links, you’re helping to support our work here at The Bits and we really appreciate it)...

While you’re at it, if you see something you like, why don’t you purchase it through the Amazon links that we’ve provided in each review? A portion of anything that you order from Amazon after clicking through to them from our links goes to help support our work here at The Bits, and we really do appreciate your support. Also, take a moment to check out my channel over at YouTube called Podcast Salmonella. I try to get up a new podcast as frequently as I can. Myself and various guests have fun chats about movies, music, comic books, etc. So please check it out. That’s all from me for this week. Enjoy!